[budman]

...How to kick another 7 year olds a$$.

MMA has ruined america. There are more "tough guys" walking around now it seems with everyone so quick to want to fight. Like an advanced civilization taking a step back to more primitive ways. Now instead of team sports and learning that the whole is greater than the parts, we have 7 year olds with muscles and ego. And if you don't like it.. want to fight?

[jacoblyles]

MMA has "ruined America"? Please, save us the hyperbole.

I stepped into an MMA gym a year ago, it's the best thing I have ever done for myself. It has strengthened my mind and body in ways that would have never occurred otherwise in my life of sitting in front of computers. And it is much better for my brain chemistry than gorging on passive media.

And no, I'm not particularly eager to start fights. But being confident in myself means that I'm not the target of the kind of guys that start fights. The people who know martial arts and start fights are the people that started fights before they knew martial arts.

You know, most Jiu Jitsu gyms in your area would give you a free week or month of lessons, if you wanted to develop a first-hand opinion on the issue. But be warned: it might change your life.

[noonespecial]

Martial arts taught me quite the opposite. Fighting is difficult and dangerous and the outcome is far from certain, regardless of the level of experience. Its not like a Jackie Chan movie. You opponents don't wait in line for you to get around to them and one hit to the head with a hard object can be fatal.

I'd submit to you the opposite. Less TV and more martial arts training would make people much less eager to start a fight.

[billswift]

There's an old saying - the world's best swordsman isn't afraid of the second best, he's afraid of the worst, because he can't predict what the silly SOB will do next. A serious martial artist will avoid fighting when there is no need, because in a fight your opponent is trying just as hard as you are to win and Murphy's law is always waiting. No matter how uneven the fight looks their is NO guarantee, and losing a fight REALLY hurts.

[rw]

We can observe this as a natural experiment: what are the rates of street crime in Japan vs. the US?

[redcap]

Really not a good comparison. a) the culture is so much different - a lot of acting for the good of the group rather than the individual, and b) there really aren't _that_ many people who study martial arts.

[gnosis]

This is one area where learning a martial art with more of a philosophy behind it might be more beneficial than just training technique at a McDojo.

In a good martial arts school you will learn how to discipline the mind, and not just the body. In a good school you'll learn to avoid fights as much as learn to win fights. In a good school you will learn to control your ego.

Also, I would add that I think a person's willingness to pick fights has more to do with the kind of environment they grew up in, their peers, parents, and role models, than it does with whether they had MMA training.

[anigbrowl]

I'm fine with kids studying martial arts, but the current fashion for MMA perplexes me...I suppose it's the all you can eat buffet of martial arts. Oh well, plenty of time to specialize later.

[gnosis]

I think the current popularity of MMA has to do with two things:

1 - the broadcast of competitions like the UFC

2 - the recognition that no one martial art is superior to the rest, so it's essential to cross-train in a variety of martial arts to be maximally effective

[solson]

My son chose the MMA gym because he liked it when we visited it. He's never seen an UFC or MMA fight.

[jerf]

"MMA has ruined america. There are more "tough guys" walking around now it seems with everyone so quick to want to fight."

[citation needed]

If there's been some sort of epidemic of fist fighting breaking out all across America, I sure haven't seen it in the news. I suspect this is more an ideology you have that leads you to the emotional conclusion that this is outcome, not a logical one.

[beza1e1]

Yes, especially if he is an only child, i think team sports would be better. The childs dedication is inspiring, though. I'll do some push-ups now.